New Stanley Restaurant: Biscuit-Centric Southern Food and Retro Decor

Drew Shader couldn’t find the kind of biscuits he loved when he moved from Florida to Colorado. So he opened the Denver Biscuit Company. “All of my concepts are totally selfish,” says Shader. “It’s food I want, that I can’t find, that I think I can do better.” Shader’s new location at the Stanley Marketplace marks the first time he has taken one of his trio of concepts out from under one roof. In three other locations, Denver Biscuit Company shares space with Fat Sully’s Pizza and the Atomic Cowboy bar, providing food and libations from early morning to late night. Branching off with the biscuit business came as a result of people requesting biscuits past the 2pm closing. The new location is open from 8am to 10pm or later.

Floor signage says it all: Biscuits All Day!

Shader chose to open the solo concept at the Stanley because it combined everything he’d been looking for: an old building, a sense of community and easy access for multiple neighborhoods. “The scope of the project is once in a lifetime,” Shader says. “The location is amazing—the rooftops of Stapleton, combined with Aurora and the hospitals—it’s super-unique.”

The character of the Stanley, as well as the ability to start fresh with the Denver Biscuit Company, allowed Shader to play around with the atmosphere of the restaurant. “There were no constraints. The scope and size and history of the building and the fact that it was a factory really lent itself to adding some polish,” says Shader, who added brass fixtures, polished lights and a glitzy arrow marking where to pick up to-go orders. Retro décor is sprinkled throughout the space, part of Shader’s love of mixing old and new. “My team calls me a hoarder but I pick up stuff wherever I am and we have a lot of storage so we always have it when we need it,” he says.

Shader’s passion for Southern food touches every aspect of the biscuit-centric menu with house-made fried chicken, sausage, shrimp and grits, gravy and jams. When asked for the ideal biscuit criteria, Shader says “It has to have a lot of layers, has to have the flake and it has to be full of butter. It has to be rolled, layered, folded and tender inside with a little bit of crispiness outside.” It also has to be huge. Shader demonstrates with his hands, saying “as big as a cat’s head.” More information at www.denbisco.com or call 303.377.7900.